If you've stumbled upon the lib*interactive site (formerly #sxswLAM) during SXSW Interactive, and you're interested in meeting some lib*folk, we invite you to join us at any of these social activities. Everything except the official meetup is free and doesn't require a SXSW badge. We hope that you will come out and join us! We're a friendly group and we love meeting new people.

Be sure to check out the list of library-related sessions on the official Interactive schedule here. Full schedule, including the sessions happening at the IdeaDrop house are here.

The lib*interactive team issued the release below this morning to help spread the word about library- and museum-inspired sessions and lib*interactive's advocacy work at SXSW Interactive.

Librarians continue to bring energy, ideas to SXSW Interactive

lib*interactive showcases how libraries are ‘not the same old shhh’

AUSTIN – March 9, 2015 – To raise awareness of the innovation and technology happening in libraries today, and to highlight the ways in which librarians support entrepreneurship, library advocates and industry leaders from across the U.S. will attend the 2015 SXSW Interactive festival in Austin, March 13-17.

Advocating as lib*interactive (formerly sxswLAM), this volunteer-led group of library thought-leaders have attended, presented and actively recruited their colleagues to participate in SXSW Interactive over the past several years. This year expands upon the group’s success with new energy and ideas, including a plethora of library- and museum-inspired programs.

“Librarians are creators in the digital age,” says Carson Block, a library technology consultant and lib*interactive organizer. “We want to share with and learn from other creators. It’s as simple – and profoundly effective – as that.”

lib*interactive encourages librarians to be a part of the SXSW Interactive conversation to learn about emerging and interactive technologies, develop partnerships and find new ideas to take back to their libraries and communities. SXSW also provides a venue on a national stage to help people understand how libraries have changed in the 21st century.

“EveryLibrary goes to SXSW Interactive to talk to starters, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists about librarians and libraries,” says John Chrastka, executive director of EveryLibrary, a library advocacy organization dedicated to preserving local library funding. “Librarians are early adopters who train the public on how to use wearables, apps and devices. Librarians provide important business reference, market intelligence, and supply-chain analytics to help businesses grow. Libraries are huge data centers, and librarians are the original taxonomists. EveryLibrary wants to bring a renewed awareness of these valuable institutions and the informational professionals who run them.”

Media are invited to learn more about the evolving role of 21st century libraries by attending some of the SXSW Interactive sessions recommended by lib*interactive. Follow all of lib*interactive’s on-site initiatives via Twitter at @lib_interactive and #liblove on social channels.

Starting in mid-2013, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, D.C., embarked on a journey to transform itself into a place for residents of diverse backgrounds and interests to connect, learn and "make" ideas into working realities. The space is called the Dream Lab, and the library already has attracted more than 87 local entrepreneurial projects. One of these projects is MapStory, an online social cartographic platform that empowers anyone to map historical change over time using open data.

In exchange for membership in the Dream Lab, each project commits to offering one hour of programming per month to engage the public in their efforts and ideas – extending the social network and empowering the community in a transformative way. Nicholas Kerelchuk, manager of the D.C. Public Library Digital Commons; Jonathan Marino, director of content and strategy at The MapStory Foundation; and Larra Clark, program director at the American Library Association; will discuss these collaborations and how libraries are helping to catalyze learning and action, building a stronger knowledge economy for all.

Fueled by a combination of necessity, tenacity, creativity, collaboration, authenticity and straight-up guts, Anythink transformed itself from the worst-funded library system in Colorado to one of the most recognized brands in the industry. By focusing on creating amazing experiences for its customers, Anythink has designed a new approach to library service that has sparked a revolution in libraries not just in Colorado by around the world.

In this Future15 presentation, Anythink Director of Innovations and Brand Strategy Stacie Ledden will share how putting the customer experience first, building a strong culture and embracing change can help build word-of-mouth marketing that shifts perceptions and inspires brand loyalty.

“At Anythink, we’ve developed a brand inspired by our vision to put customers first, whether they visit the library to discover something new, learn how to start a business, use our tools to design a new product or collaborate on a project,” says Ledden. “While this evolution has been happening in libraries for some time, we need to change how we tell our story and market ourselves. This challenge isn’t unique to libraries but to all industries, so we are excited to share some of our lessons learned with the SXSW Interactive community.”

Do YOU library? Connect with some of the nation’s most creative, forward-thinking library professionals and supporters to find out how to leverage libraries as a platform to fuel your passions and successes. By gathering with other thought-leaders in this informal setting, you’ll learn how libraries (and librarians) are fostering entrepreneurship, transforming their spaces into showrooms for prototyping and discovery, and helping to build more knowledgeable communities. Libraries have evolved into places that support ideas, creativity and exploration through participation, where users take the reigns to define their own experience. This informal meet-up is designed the same way: Bring your ideas, questions, challenges and good spirits no matter from which industry you hail to learn how libraries are not the same old shhh.

For startups and technology companies looking to harness the power of information, expertise can be found in the form of librarians. Jeffrey Lancaster, former emerging technologies coordinator at Columbia University Libraries and current senior project manager for New Water Culture, will give both startups and libraries a vocabulary to understand how skills practiced by librarians translate to technology companies. From their expertise in a variety of diverse startup-centric issues like copyright, standards and open information, librarians have a skill set especially important to growing technology companies.

lib*interactive is a passionate group of library professionals and supporters who promote the intersection of libraries and technology at SXSW Interactive. Their advocacy is rooted in the need to shift perceptions of libraries, as well as innovate and propel the industry forward. By providing early access to technology and data, makerspaces, coworking opportunities and the expertise of information professionals – librarians – libraries are helping to support the emerging information and technology landscape. Learn more at http://www.lib-interactive.com/.

In anticipation of SXSW 2015, sxswLAM is now lib*interactive. lib*interactive represents the evolution of our group, and as we continue to build on past successes and widen our reach, we wanted a name that supports our vision and opens frontiers - just like libraries do for people in our communities.

Still the same great group of people with continued energy and passion - now with a new name!

The best way to stay in the loop on all lib*interactive happenings is via our Facebook group. Follow @lib_interactive on Twitter as well. Contribute to the conversation via all your favorite social channels with the #liblove tag.

Thanks as always for your support! We appreciate your help in spreading the word.

With just a few weeks away, here's your annual round-up of library- and museum-inspired sessions for 2015. Part of our vision for attending SXSW Interactive is to break out of our normal bubbles. We also attend to help propel libraries and museums into the forefront of people's minds. We do that by getting as many LAM-related topics on the docket as we can. Show your support for the LAM movement, friends and colleagues by peppering your session schedule with a few of these great programs.

The SXSW PanelPicker is now open for public voting. Our goal is to get as many LAM-related panels on the docket for 2015 as we can, but we need your help. Thirty percent of the decision to pick a panel is based on public input; learn about the other variables here. Sign up for an account, and get your votes in before Friday, Sept. 5. Please add comments to the proposals to show your support, and share far and wide! Selected panels will be announced starting Monday, Oct. 20, 2014.

As part of our planning for SXSWi 2014, we put together some criteria to help us evaluate our onsite ideas. With so many players and partners, we needed a few guidelines that would help us really look at the "why" behind our ideas so that we could put our energy towards the ones that would have the greatest impact.

After recently revisiting these criteria, we realized some may also be useful in thinking about panel submissions, due Friday, July 25.

A few things to consider when shaping your proposal...

Does it help people think differently about libraries?

Does the initiative help break the stereotypes about libraries (and librarians)?

Does it help people understand how libraries are relevant to them?

We’ve found that counting on people’s altruistic nature isn’t always effective (e.g. talking digital divide). Does the panel help communicate how libraries can impact their lives/biz in a way they can relate, understand and be inspired?

Is it daring?

SXSW is all about breaking the mold - our panels should do the same.

Is it active vs. passive?

They call it SXSW "Interactive" for a reason. In libraries, we're seeing a shift from a passive>participatory experience. Does your panel proposal reflect this shift? Rather than just talking at people, can you engage them as active participants?

Do you have other criteria you're using for your own proposals? If so, please share!

Beyond the gadgets, apps and mind-blowing new ideas at SXSWi, the most powerful takeaway from this year's festival was collaborative impact.

Our group of passionate librarians and supporters infiltrated this year's festival in a big way, and we even surprised ourselves at how far-reaching our impact was in 2014. Our most effective tool was the conversation - one-on-one advocacy with tech leaders, students, entrepreneurs, innovators, fellow librarians and even celebrities. The conversation went like this: Libraries and the tech industry are a perfect match. Libraries are now places that support creativity and content creation, the perfect location for prototyping and user testing new products. They provide the perfect space for co-working and collaboration. They are spaces that inspire ideas, creativity and innovation. Most importantly, librarians are your trusted partners, here to support your personal and entrepreneurial success.

Most of the people we talked to didn't need much convincing. More than once we heard, "My mom is a librarian!" or "My dad is a librarian!" Also, "I take my daughter to the library every week." One man even spoke about how he started his business at his local library.

"We needed a room and a white board," said Zachary Barker, founder of Opportunity Machine. The first place he thought of was his local library.

That is the purpose of this wild librarian adventure: Let's get libraries at the forefront of people's minds. By facilitating these conversations, the next time one of these SXSW attendees launches a new product, starts a new business or researches a new service model, we hope they'll remember our conversations and know the library's on their side.

These conversations were wide-reaching, influenced by the depth of collaboration between this year's partners.

The sxswLAM team specialized in their fun, on-the-fly street advocacy through it's "Do you library?" campaign. Attendees were asked to tweet to their local libraries to say hello, good job, see ya soon, or even sorry about those overdue fines. In return, they got a sweet coozie that proudly displayed, "Not the same old SHHH..." This was a great way to connect SXSWi attendees from all over the country with their local libraries, and in turn, the libraries learned about sxswLAM. Our goal was to tweet to 20 libraries, and our team will wrap up today well beyond that.

The team's success this year was largely due to our presence on site in the SXSW Trade Show. Through the help of Joe Murphy, Innovative Interfaces sponsored a booth - not just to market their products but to market librarians. This was a space where we could talk with attendees in an informal, fun setting and have those important conversations about how libraries fit into people's lives (and business plans).

Sandy and Bonnie Tijerina from ER&L found the perfect location for this year's IdeaDrop house, a space not far from the convention center where people came together to connect, share ideas and discuss important topics in libraries and beyond. With the help of their fabulous AV tech Albert, the house not only live streamed conversations from librarians and thought-leaders, there was a "confessional" where people could record their thoughts on SXSW and librarianship. They also live streamed the Ed Snowden simulcast so we could avoid the crowds, enjoy mimosas and watch together from the comfort of the couch.

EveryLibrary ensured we were well fed and well connected over the course of the weekend, sponsoring breakfast each morning at the IdeaDrop house and meet-ups at our favorite Austin jaunt Mugshots. John Chrastka, this week named a 2014 Mover and Shaker, talked with start-ups and venture capitalists about how investing in libraries is investing in a healthy economic future. At breakfast each morning, we'd discuss our successes from the day before, what we were excited about, what we had planned for the next day.

A serendipidous and delightful addition this year was the presence of the Labrary, Library Test Kitchen's prototype library space out of Harvard. Jeff Goldenson and Jessica Yurkofsky are two of the coolest people you'll ever meet and converged on the lawn of Austin's O'Henry Museum to show off their student-designed library machines. They provided inspiration and participation to SXSWi attendees, showcasing the possibilities and creativity that abound in libraries.

The radical team of Christian Zabriskie and Lauren Comito took to the streets of Austin as the Volunteer Library Brigade, conducting story times and street reference for awe-inspired passersby. The passion of this power duo is infectious, and they brought fresh ideas to this year's efforts.

The turnout of librarians this year was astounding. The long list of partners impressive, so much so that it's difficult to list them all here.

Fueled by undeniable passion and hundreds of volunteer hours, this year's initiatives culminated into five days of determined, strategic, effective library advocacy. This model of collaboration was an important reminder of how powerful we can be when working towards a common goal and the greater impact we have when supporting each other, inspiring each other and working together to help push libraries forward.

In anticipation of librarians traveling to SXSWi this week, EveryLibrary - the only national Political Action Committee dedicated to building capacity at a local level to secure and extend library funding at the ballot box - issued the below press release highlighting some examples of libraries on the cutting edge of tech.

Libraries & Librarians as Major Players in Tech at SXSWi

AUSTIN (February 5, 2014) – Representatives from the library industry’s leading organizations and associations are attending SXSW Interactive to raise awareness of the ways librarians are already supporting emerging entrepreneurs and tech businesses across the country. The goal is to get more entrepreneurs to recognize how librarians can help them scale their businesses. Through the support of Innovative, the leading provider of technology solutions and services to libraries, these organizations will be represented at the Innovative booth for libraries (#1036) during the SXSW Trade Show.

Joining Innovative to represent the library industry are the American Library Association, the Association of Rural and Small Libraries, the Digital Library Federation, Electronic Resources & Libraries, EveryLibrary, the Freedom to Read Foundation, Urban Libraries Council, Urban Librarians Unite, and sxswLAM, among others.

“Librarians are easily the most underutilized resource a startup has. They’re your gateway to all of the information you need to gather competitive intelligence, convene focus groups or allow users to test your product,” says John Chrastka, executive director of EveryLibrary, a library advocacy organization dedicated to preserving local library funding and ensuring access. “We’re opening up the eyes of starters and entrepreneurs across the country to the resources that are accessible at their local library and online, for free with a library card.”

Libraries continue to be the original co-working space and are evolving as drivers of the ecosystem. They serve as central locations for civic hacking and tech meetups.

Librarians are also starters themselves, and they are leveraging libraries as showrooms to get their products in the hands of consumers. Following are several examples of libraries and librarians on the cutting-edge of tech.

Libraries and Partnerships for the Future

Joe Murphy, in the capacity of director of Library Futures, is leveraging the technology partner, Innovative Interfaces, to facilitate librarians as partners in the SXSW technology conversation. Murphy says, “We are proud to participate in the meetup of librarians at SXSW. It’s our way of showing our support for the library industry in the pursuit of educating the tech world of what an important role librarians play.”

Libraries as Co-working and Maker Spaces

At Anythink, the public library system for Adams County, Colo., the library supports existing and future entrepreneurs by providing space for making and creating content. The Studio at Anythink provides access to tools like a 3-D printer, a textiles studio, digital photography studios, a sound recording studio and software, like Adobe Creative Suite, to help community members pursue their creative and entrepreneurial passions.

“What’s truly unique about The Studio at Anythink is its Artists in Residence program,” says Stacie Ledden, communications director at Anythink. “We partner professional creatives with our customers to help push their skills to new bounds. By pulling in experts from the fields of web design, programming, photography, graphic design – even vocal coaches – we’re tapping into the expertise of our local community and growing the skillsets of those who use The Studio. Not only does this help them to be successful in their professional and creative pursuits, but they are designing finished products that they can include in their portfolios or on their websites – and they created them at the library.”

In addition to The Studio, Anythink is a destination for business meetings, hosted workshops or as a comfortable, accessible coworking space for freelancers, entrepreneurs and small-business owners.

Rebecca Stavick, staff development specialist at Omaha Public Library, is one of the four founders of Open Nebraska, a citizen-led organization dedicated to pushing the open data movement in Nebraska. Open Nebraska’s mission is to solve community problems through civic application development, open data advocacy and tech education. The group organized Hack Omaha, a weekend hackathon they hosted in November 2013, which attracted around 30 participants. Stavick contends there are so many elements of civic hacking that are a direct reflection of librarianship. The library, she says, is one of the few places with the space and the Internet access that makes these types of events possible.

“Lack of access to local data is of direct concern to libraries. If libraries are supposed to provide open access to information, then any kind of public data would fall within that realm,” says Stavick. “Curating local information so that it’s more accessible to the public is a common goal of both librarians and civic hackers, with the intended result of informing citizens so they can make their own decisions.”

Open Nebraska is launching Hack Lincoln, the first-ever civic hackathon in Lincoln, Neb., this March and is aiming to plan another hackathon around National Civic Hacking Day in June.

Libraries as Drivers of the Ecosystem

In addition to hosting a local group of developers every Friday, the Princeton Public Library in New Jersey is home to the Princeton Tech Meetup. The group, led by local entrepreneur Venu Moola, has a membership base of more than 2,000 people and draws around 150 entrepreneurs, developers and investors to the library on a monthly basis. In traditional pitch-style event fashion, the event begins with a guest speaker and then startup founders get their time in the limelight and have the opportunity to let the crowd know if they’re looking for developers, financing or other forms of support. Following the pitch session, attendees network and make connections. Librarian Janie Hermann, the public programming librarian at Princeton Public Library, says the meetup has been successful in helping starters find both developer talent and investment dollars.

Through the Arapahoe Library District, Director of Digital Services Oli Sanidas is using the library as a showroom to give patrons access to cutting-edge products that are generally out of reach for the everyday consumer. Products like Google Glass, 3-D printers and Oculus Rift virtual reality headsets for 3-D gaming are making their way into the hands of patrons at the Arapahoe Library District. Sanidas says they have also begun touring the products throughout the community, giving hands-on access to businesses and residents. While this is a great opportunity for companies to put their products in the hands of consumers, the library’s goal is to expose people to new technology and inspire them to engage by either creating for these technologies or simply raising awareness that they exist.

The Innovative booth for libraries is hosted in partnership with the American Library Association, the Association of Rural and Small Libraries, the Digital Library Federation, Electronic Resources & Libraries, EveryLibrary, the Freedom to Read Foundation, Urban Libraries Council, Urban Librarians Unite, and sxswLAM, among others. It is made possible through generous support from Innovative Interfaces.

For more information on the programs, panels, and outreach librarians, archivists, and museum professionals are doing at SXSWi, visit http://www.sxswlam.org/ or stop by Booth #1036 during the SXSW Trade Show.

About EveryLibrary

EveryLibrary is the only national Political Action Committee dedicated to building capacity at a local level to secure and extend library funding at the ballot box. EveryLibrary’s mission is to provide campaign consultancy, technical assistance, and direct funding to locally organized, pro-library ballot committees and PACs. As a 501c4, we do not campaign for or support any candidate for office at any level of government. More about our work building voter support for libraries can be found at www.everylibrary.org.

About Innovative

Innovative is dedicated to providing leading technology solutions and services that empower libraries and enrich their users worldwide. Innovative offers the broadest and most complete portfolio of library automation products on the market today. Innovative.s flagship library services platform, Sierra, is the most rapidly adopted product in library automation history. The company’s versatile and market-leading solutions also include the Millennium ILS, the Encore discovery solution, Electronic Resource Management, Decision Center collection management tool, the SkyRiver cataloging service, and INN-Reach resource sharing. Customers are supported through a 24/7/52 Help Desk, Innovative University, and the CSDirect Web support center. A recognized leader in library automation software, Innovative has introduced technological advancements for over 30 years. Headquartered in Emeryville, California, Innovative serves thousands of libraries in over 50 countries and has offices around the world. Keep up with Innovative on the CEO INN-Sights blog at blog.iii.com, Facebook, and YouTube.